George Strief

George Andrew Strief

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 172 lb.

• Debut May 1, 1879
• Final Game September 8, 1885
• Born October 16, 1856 in Cincinnati, OH USA
• Died April 1, 1946 in Cleveland Heights, OH USA

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Biographical Information

George Strief played in three different major leagues in his five years in the majors. Primarily a second baseman and outfielder, he was not a strong hitter most years. However, on June 25, 1885, he did something that has been equaled only once since then - he hit four triples in one game (Bill Joyce later did the same).

Strief was born in Cincinnati, OH in 1856, during the same month that Fleetwood Walker was born in the same state. He played amateur ball in Ohio and also played in the minors for Columbus in 1877 before coming to a minor league team in Pittsburgh in 1878.

The next season he became a regular outfielder and backup second baseman for the 1879 Cleveland Blues in the first year of that franchise. He was not the weakest-hitting outfielder on the team as Billy Riley hit .143.

George surfaced again in the majors with the 1882 Pittsburgh Alleghenys of the brand-new 1882 American Association. This time he was the regular second baseman, and while he again hit under .200, he was not the weakest-hitting infielder on the team as Chappy Lane hit .178.

The next year he moved to the 1883 St. Louis Browns of the AA, moving over .200 with a .225 batting average. He was again the regular second baseman, on a team which went 65-33.

On May 9, 1883, he accepted the job as umpire for a game between two black teams in Cleveland. A couple other major leaguers had turned down the opportunity. Source: Base ball on the Western Reserve. He had umpired three National League games in 1880 and then returned for a regular work in 1890.

Strief played for all three major league clubs in 1884, appearing in 48 games with the 1884 St. Louis Browns (AA), 8 games with the 1884 Cleveland Blues (NL), 15 games with the Kansas City Cowboys (UA) and 15 games with the 1884 Chicago/Pittsburgh team. Although he hit only .189 for the season, the next year he was back playing again, this time with the 1885 Philadelphia Athletics, for whom he hit .274. It was his last year in the majors and the only year in which he hit over .225 for a season. For the A's he played more third base and shortstop than he did outfield or second base.

He continued to play for several more years in the minors for teams around the country.

After baseball, he worked as a policeman in Cleveland. See [1].

"George Strief, when a member of the Browns, was looked upon as one of the best sacrifice hitters in the profession and he was always anxious to sacrifice himself if it would score a run or advance a base-runner." - Sporting Life, Sept. 5, 1888

"STRIEF ON A RAMPAGE. The Ex-Player Makes Trouble in a Policeman's Uniform. Patrolman George Strief attempted to arrest six men in a saloon last night and bagged one. When he got him to the Central police station the officer in charge locked Strief up and liberated his prisoner. Strief had been drinking. It was his first offense." - Sporting Life, Nov. 19, 1898

"STRIEF ACQUITTED. . . at the trial it was quite clearly shown a bad mistake had been made. All the testimony went to prove that Strief, who is one of the most popular policemen on the Cleveland force, had not been drinking. He was acquitted, and the officer who was responsible for his having been locked up, was scored." - Sporting Life, Dec. 3, 1898

Records Held

• Triples, game, 4, 6/25/1885 (tied)

Related Sites

• George Strief on Retrosheet.org
• Find-A-Grave Memorial for George Strief